Aleksei Alekseevich Brusilov (Russian: Алексей Алексеевич Брусилов) (August 19, 1853 - March 17, 1926) was a Russian cavalry general most noted for the development of a military offensive tactic used in the Brusilovoffensive of 1916.

The Brusilovoffensive by the Russian 8th Army was one of the most important Russian campaigns during World War I with Austria-Hungary losing a staggering total of 1.5 million men in its aftermath and 25,000 square kilometres of territory.

Brusilov was a patriot, and he despised the presence of the Bolsheviks in power, but he saw in them a path for the Russian nation to rise as a Greater Russia, united and indivisible.

Kerensky and Brusilov were of the opinion that once the shooting began the soldiers would ignore the calls for political meetings and return to the trenches to support the comrades who chose to fight on(4).

Brusilov's problems started at a fronts' commanders' meeting on 11 June when the general found out that the soldiers of the Northwest and Western Fronts, roughly from Riga to the Galician border, were unreliable and would probably not agree to be a part of any battle no matter how small it might be.

Brusilov realized that the offensive would have to be limited to the Southwest Front, his old command, where his personal prestige among the men still held sway.

The great BRUSILOVOFFENSIVE, initiated somewhat prematurely in order to meet the Italian appeals to distract the Austrians in the Trentino.

Brusilov (appointed to the command of the Russian southern front, April 4) had planned the offensive for June 15, to coincide with Joffre's great offensive on the Somme.

But the Brusilovoffensive was meant to be followed by an even larger operation farther north.

www.bartleby.com /67/1756.html (270 words)

Brusilov, AA(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)

Brusilov's command of the Eighth Army on the Austrian front from 1914 marked him as a cut above most other Russian commanders, but it was not until March 1916 that he was appointed to lead the southwestern army group and had an opportunity to demonstrate his skills on a wider scale.

In planning the offensive of 1916 which bears his name, Brusilov set an example of efficient staff work and preparation unparalleled in the rest of the army.

The Brusilovoffensive was launched on June 4, 1916 in Galicia, in rough coordination with Italian and British offensives on the Piave and Somme respectively.

The 1916 Russian offensive, planned and commanded by Russia's best general in The First World War, Alexai Brusilov, was meant to be a supporting attack for the main 1916offensive against the German army.

Brusilov's unorthodox tactics (little pre-attack artillery bombardment, no concentration of force, no numerical superiority) were responsible for the surprise enjoyed by South-West Front.

NOTE: The Offensive actually ended in late September, but the entry of Rumania into the war on August 27, and the consequent withdrawal of several of Brusilov's divisions, meant that there was little or no chance the Russians could make further progress after late August.

Joffre, meanwhile, pressed the British government to stage a major diversionary offensive elsewhere on the Western Front to serve as a drain on German manpower.Originally scheduled for 1 August, the Battle of the Somme was brought forward to 1 July upon the insistence of the French.

The German Verdunoffensive transformed the intent of the Somme attack; the French demanded that the planned date of the attack, 1 August 1916, be brought forward to 1 July, the aim chiefly being to divert German resources from Verdun in the defence of the Somme.

The focus of the offensive was the Chemin des Dames Ridge, held by the Germans upon their retreat from the Marne in September 1914 until their ejection, at huge cost to the French, during the Nivelle Offensive, also known as the Second Battle of the Aisne, in April 1917.

Continued German pressure on Verdun and Austrian attacks in Italy, led the Russians to launch a major new offensive on the Eastern Front in support of their Allies in June 1916.

The offensive began on 4 June, following a massive artillery bombardment, and was launched in two main sectors; opposite Luck on Brusilovs right and in the valleys of the Dniester and Prut to his left.

Brusilov'soffensive was reopened once more on 7 August and despite the arrival in the south of more German troops, the Russians reached the foothills of the Carpathians and took the whole of the Bukovina.

STAVKA moves up timing of Brusilovoffensive even though Western allies are not ready to launch complementary assault in the West.

Russian army reports that since the start of the Brusilovoffensive 144,000 prisoners and 219 guns were taken.

Brusilov's troops continue their advance in the Zolta-Lipa region and have captured 19,000 prisoners in the past four days.

www.russianwarrior.com /1914_History_1916.htm (3607 words)

Frank's World War One Page - 1916(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)

The BrusilovOffensive was defined by massive casualties, broken spirits, and might-have-beens.

Brusilov was justifiably irate at Evert's and Kuropatkin's failures to assist him.

The BrusilovOffensive gave the final, devastating blow to an army that was already demoralized and reduced in numbers from the fighting in 1914 and 1915.

www.wwonewhelan.com /ww1916.htm (3486 words)

Ask Us A Question(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)

Italy hoped that by joining the countries of the Triple Entente against the Central Powers she would be able to regain the province of Trentino and the port of Trieste as well as the territories of South Tyrol, Istria and Dalmatia.

Italy's first move in the war was an offensive aimed at capturing the town of Gorizia on the Isonzo river.

In the beginning of the offensive, Italy outnumbered the Austrians 2 to 1 in men, but failed to penetrate their strong defensive lines along the Alps, mostly because Austrians were based on higher grounds, and Italian offensives were to be conducted climbing.

When General Alexei Brusilov became C-in-C of the southwest front in the spring of 1916, opposing Conrad's Austrian front in Galicia, the Italians were begging the Russians to mount an offensive, as Austria was putting heavy pressure on Italy on another front.

Yet his offensive was not in vain, because in did force the Central Powers to send forces from other fronts, and thus helped the Italians, French and British at a critical time in the west.

The offensive also helped convince the still neutral Romanians to join the allies (a MAJOR error on their part) in August, an event which, ironically, persuaded the Russian High Command to persist with Brusilov's now spent offensive.

Russian general distinguished for the "Brusilov breakthrough" on the Eastern Front with Austria-Hungary (June-August 1916), which aided Russia's Western allies at a crucial time during World War I. Brusilov was educated in the Imperial Corps of Pages, and he began his military career as a cavalry officer in the Caucasus.

In the spring of 1916Brusilov succeeded the elderly and irresolute general N.Y. Ivanov as commander of the four Russian armies on the southwest sector of the Eastern Front.

Largely because of this offensive, Germany was forced to divert troops that might have sufficed to secure a final victory against the French in the Battle of Verdun.

This decision clearly catered to the "spirit of the offensive" which then pervaded European military thought, and in pursuit of this doctrine, most Russian fortress units were deactivated.

Brusilov was urged by St. Petersburg to continue his summer gains even though the Russians had suffered horrible casualties in the process of attaining their goals.

In September the offensive was continued, but without the same elegance as earlier, causing casualties to again climb toward the one-million mark.

www.richthofen.com /ww1sum2 (2114 words)

TO BE HONEST by P. S. Ehrlich(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)

France was eager for Romania to begin an offensive immediately, hoping this would be a mortal blow to Austria-Hungary; but the Romanians delayed making their move till the end of August—and only made it then because of a threatening ultimatum from Russia.

Brusilov's brilliant offensive had exhausted its supplies and ammunition by the end of September, and men were not only fighting without weapons but having to tear down barbed wire with their bare hands.

During the Brusilovoffensive he had been taken prisoner, and in Russia he became acquainted with Lenin.

First one: 1917 - The Provisional Government does not promise a big summer offensive against Germany, but supports a grand siege strategy for the Allies, relying on reequipping its army and maintaining it in the field while gearing up for a major effort in 1918 when the Americans should be on the continent.

Second one: 1916 - WI the Russians don't do the Brusilovoffensive but try to build up for a big effort in 1917, having witnessed their total ass-kicking in 1915.

Brusilov is the obvious choice but Plehve or even Evert (as long as he remains on defense) would be an improvement.

In March 1916Brusilov was given command of the South Western Army Group on the Eastern Front and led the offensive during the summer of 1916.

However, he was dismissed in August 1917 and remained on the sidelines during the Civil War Brusilov joined the Red Army in 1920 and served as military consultant and inspector of cavalry for the next four years.